Research Careers at MPI-SWS

The institute offers opportunities for research careers at all levels

Current openings for faculty positions, post-doctoral positions, and internships are listed below.

The institute offers both short- and long-term visiting appointments for qualified scholars who wish to spend time at the institute. Interested individuals should contact the faculty member concerned.

Director Opening

Call for Nominations for Director Position at MPI-SWS in Kaiserslautern

The Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) expects to have an opening for a new director and scientific member of the MPG in the general area of computer science at the Kaiserslautern branch of the institute. Max Planck directors are international leaders in their respective field, pursue an ambitious research agenda within their groups, and lead the institute jointly with their faculty colleagues. Directors enjoy academic freedom and benefit from a diverse, international, excellent research environment, outstanding infrastructure, and long-term scientific funding. The MPG seeks to increase the representation of women scientists and is particularly interested in appointing excellent women scientists. Please send nominations of suitable candidates, including outstanding mid-career scientists, to the institute’s Managing Director at md-office@mpi-sws.org. Self-nominations are welcome. All nominations will be treated confidentially.

Tenure-track Openings

Tenure-track Faculty Openings at Computer Science MPIs

The Max Planck Institutes (MPIs) for Informatics, for Security & Privacy, and for Software Systems invite applications for tenure-track faculty in all areas of computer science. We expect to fill several positions.

A doctoral degree in computer science or related fields and an outstanding research record are required. Successful candidates are expected to build a team and pursue a highly visible research agenda, both independently and in collaboration with other groups.

The institutes are part of a network of over 80 MPIs, Germany’s premier basic-research institutes. MPIs have an established record of world-class, foundational research in the sciences, technology, and the humanities. The institutes offer a unique environment that combines the best aspects of a university department and a research laboratory: Faculty enjoy full academic freedom, lead a team of doctoral students and post-docs, and have the opportunity to teach university courses; at the same time, they enjoy ongoing institutional funding in addition to third-party funds, a technical infrastructure unrivaled for an academic institution, as well as internationally competitive compensation.

We maintain an international and diverse work environment and seek applications from outstanding researchers worldwide. The working language is English; knowledge of the German language is not required for a successful career at the institutes.

Qualified candidates should apply using the application portal at https://apply.cis.mpg.de. The review of applications will begin on December 1st, 2023.

MPIs are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and global academic community, and consider qualified applicants for employment without discrimination on the basis of gender, race, disability, ethnic or social origin, or any other legally protected status. We particularly encourage applications from groups that are underrepresented in computer science. We welcome applications from dual-career couples and will do our best to try and accommodate their needs.

The initial tenure-track appointment is for six years. A permanent contract can be awarded upon a successful tenure evaluation in the sixth year.

Postdoctoral positions

The Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) has multiple openings for Postdoctoral Fellows in the areas of programming languages & verification, distributed & mobile systems, real-time & embedded systems, security & privacy, natural language processing, and social computing.

Postdoctoral Fellows have the opportunity to work with MPI-SWS faculty on existing lines of research, as well as develop their own research agenda under MPI-SWS faculty supervision. Former Postdoctoral Fellows have moved on to take permanent position at top universities and research laboratories worldwide, including Yale, Telecom ParisTech, Microsoft Research and INRIA.

MPI-SWS is a publicly funded academic research institution focused on problems of fundamental importance in the broad area of software systems. The institute currently has 11 faculty and about 45 doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, and continues to grow. MPI-SWS is located in Kaiserslautern and Saarbruecken, Germany, in the tri-border area of Germany, France, and Luxembourg. The area offers a high standard of living, beautiful surroundings, and easy access to major metropolitan areas in central Europe.

The institute is committed to increasing the representation of minorities, women and individuals with physical disabilities in computer science. We particularly encourage such individuals to apply.

Internships

The Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS), together with several other MPIs, offers research internships to exceptional undergraduate and graduate students. Interns are expected to tackle new and challenging research problems in close collaboration with graduate students and faculty at the institute. Successful internships often result in coauthored publications at top academic conferences. Intern positions are limited and admissions are very competitive.

We welcome interns all year round, but most interns prefer the summer months. Every intern works directly with an assigned faculty mentor. Internship projects are based on the intern’s academic interests, maturity and prior experience. A typical internship lasts 12 to 14 weeks, but longer internships are possible.

All interns receive a monthly stipend, free (shared) housing, and travel to and from the institute hosting the internship.

Application deadline for summer internships (internships starting between May and August): November 1 of the previous year.

For an internship starting at any other time, apply at least 4 months before your intended started date.

How to Apply
Before applying, read the details of the internship program here. Internship applications must be submitted online by clicking the Apply button below (direct link). You will need to provide your CV, transcripts, contact information for at least one reference, and an optional motivation letter. You can also optionally indicate faculty members with whom you would like to work and the period during which you would like to intern.

Further Details? Questions?
Further details of the internship program, including answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), can be found at https://cis.mpg.de/internships.

COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
We understand that travel restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may prevent interns from traveling to Germany right now. In such a case, the intern and the mentor may agree mutually to complete the internship remotely.